Virginia Hamilton Adair (1913-2004) was a poet and an educator. Her collection contains poems, book manuscripts, subject files,
correspondence, personal papers, original drawings /illustrations, autobiographical accounts, notes, poem lists, and printed
matter pertaining to her poetry and her life.

Background

Mary Virginia Hamilton was born in the Bronx on February 28, 1913 and grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. As a child she was
surrounded by poetry. Her father, Robert Browning Hamilton, was a serious amateur poet who would read to her in her crib,
from classics such as Pope's translation of Homer's Iliad; her mother, Katharine Temple Hopson, focused on Mother Goose rhymes.
Mary Virginia began writing her own poems when she was six. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1933 at the age of 20,
already having twice won the distinguished Glascock Prize for poetry. A year later, she earned a master's degree at Radcliffe,
after which she taught for one year at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She had many poems published before and after
World War II. In 1936 she married Douglass Graybill Adair II, who was to become a respected American historian. The Adairs
had three children: Robert "Robin" Hamilton, Douglass "D3"Graybill III, and Katharine "Kappa" Sidney. Throughout the years,
she persisted in writing almost daily, mostly to please herself, without the dictates of publishers. Nevertheless, it is notable
that she published more poetry before her celebrity and her three books than is usually recognized.

Extent

25.0 boxes

Restrictions

Rights to this collection are held by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, University Library, Special Collections.

Availability

Some materials have restrictions. Inquire with the Head of Special Collections for restrictions prior to research.